The European Investment Bank (EIB - the financial investment arm of the European Union) has just released the results of its latest Climate Survey, and it makes for interesting reading from an Irish perspective.
We're more likely to go electric than the Germans
Perhaps unsurprisingly, some 71 per cent of Irish car buyers who responded to the survey said that they would pick a hybrid or fully-electric car as their next purchase. That is unsurprising, given the release of sales figures by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) which showed that electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for 46 per cent of new car registrations in January.
What is perhaps a little more surprising, is that a figure of 71 per cent is four points above the EU average, which indicates that we're a little more switched on to electric power than might have been thought.
According to the EIB: "This figure is 42 points higher than the percentage of Irish who said they would buy a diesel or petrol vehicle (29%). More specifically, 43% would purchase a hybrid vehicle and 28% would opt for an electric vehicle."
There's a bit of an age split between those who want a hybrid and those who want something fully-electric. Irish car buyers older than 65 are particularly interested in purchasing a hybrid vehicle (51 per cent), while young people are more likely to choose an electric vehicle (37 per cent). This figure is 14 points above the figure for people older than 65 (23 per cent of them say they would buy an electric car). Hybrid vehicles would be the top choice for Irish people aged 30-64: 45 per cent say they would opt for a hybrid car, 10 points higher than the figure for people younger than 30 (35 per cent).
11 per cent say they don't want a car
Interestingly, and perhaps this reflects the general lack of good public transport options in Ireland, 11 per cent of Irish people said that they "do not have a vehicle now and are not planning to buy one" which is two points below the EU average.
Our appetite for electric and hybrid models even puts us ahead of Germany, where only 52 per cent of buyers said that they would switch away from petrol and diesel models. For keenness to buy fully-electric models, we're smack on the EU average (28 per cent) and, again, ahead of Germany on 23 per cent.
Per the EIB: "In general, European car buyers tend to favour hybrid vehicles (39%), while petrol or diesel vehicles are ranked second (33%) and electric cars come third (28% state they would purchase an electric car). While Chinese car buyers are the most inclined to buy an electric car (44%), Americans would opt first for a hybrid vehicle (38%), followed by a petrol or diesel vehicle (33%), then an electric car (29%)."
Others are to blame...
In other climate matters, an unsurprising 75 per cent of us choose to fly for our holidays (we don't have much choice, in fairness) in spite of 51 per cent of people saying that they take climate action into account when booking holidays. And in possibly the most Irish statistic ever, 70 per cent of Irish people feel they are doing all they can to fight climate change in their daily lives, but the majority believe that their compatriots are not doing the same. Yup, it's always the fault of them feckers down the road, isn't it...
EIB Vice-President Christian Kettel Thomsen said: "Despite some clear generational gaps, Irish people are increasingly adapting their mobility and consumption habits in a more sustainable manner to tackle climate change. These shifts in individual behaviour show that people of all ages are willing to make stronger commitments in their daily lives to help mitigate the climate crisis. These intentions were voiced during COP26 and are a clear indicator of support for our efforts to foster the green transition. As the EU climate bank, one of the EIB's key roles is to finance innovative projects that focus on electric mobility as well as other sustainable mobility solutions that help build a decarbonised future for all."